Game



I H. CLEGG GAME 2 Sheets-Shet 1.

Filed May '7, 1923 gwpenl'ot Dec. 1924- 1,518,306

H. GLEGG GAME Filed May '7, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 anew Patented Dec. 9,1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GAME.

Appllication filed May 7,

To all 'whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, HOBART Cruse, a citizen of the United States,residing at Belle Vernon, in the county of Fayette and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inGames, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a game intended to be played by two, three orfour players on a board especially designed therefor, and

having marked thereon the starting and I home places for each player.Each player uses a certain numberof men or' pieces to be moved along theedges of the board in accordance with the indication given by an arrowor hand mounted to rotate in the center of the board, said arrow beingassociated with a dial carrying numbers along its outer periphery. Eachplayer spins the arrow when it is his turn to play and moves his men acertain number of spaces indicated by the point of the arrow whenstopping over a c rt-ain figure on the dial. The dial is divide intofour quarters each having a different color and the corner'fields of theboard are colored to agree with the color on the quarter facing in thedirection of each corner.

In the accompanying drawings, one embodiment of the invention isillustrated; and .Figure 1 is a top plan view of the board with thearrow in position above thedial; Figure 2 is a section along line 22 ofFi re 1;' i V igure 3 shows the board folded and the men and. arrowenclosed in a receptacle; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the men or pieces used in thegame.

The board is preferably made of some stout material such as cardboard orfiber and divided along a medial line into two rectangular halves and11, which are hinged together by fabric 12 pasted on the back of thehalves 10 and 11 so that the latter may be folded when not in use, asseen in Figure 3. The two halves 10 and 11 preferably furnish an exactsquare, as seen in Figure 1,

when open and laid fiat on a table.

At the intersection. of the two diagonals of the s uare and through thefabric 12, is furnishe 'a'naperture 13 adaptedto engage a spindle 14:having an enlarged flat head 15 on its under side. The shank 16 isthreaded along its upper portion and adapted to re 1923. Serial N0.637,225.

spindle in the aperture 13. This clamping nut 17 has a flat top facesupporting an arrow 18, which has a central opening 19 engaging aroundthe spindle 14. The hand or arrow 18 is held in position by means of apair of nuts 20 which are, adapted to lock with each other so as topermit the free rotation of the arrow around the spindle. One end of thearrow is pointed as at 21 and is adapted to register with the dial 22outlined on the upper side of the board and with one half on each sideof the fabric joint 12.

The field enclosed by the periphery is divided into quarters, of whichthe quarter marked 23 is preferably blue, while the other quarters 24:,25 and 26 are respectively colored red, yellow and green. The dial 22 isformed by two spaced circles, which are divided into a certain number ofparts, each quarter having the same number and, as shown in Figure 1,each quarter has thirteen .such divisions 42. These divisions arenumbe-red in clockwise direction from 1 to 12, while the last divisionof the blue and yellow. fields 22 and 25 respectively carry-the number5, and the red and green quarters 24 and 26 have their last divisionsnumbered 7 respectively.

Against. some of the num-. .bered spaces, small arrows 43 are pointing,

The track 27 along the edges of the board 1 is divide-d into sixteenrectangular spaces 32 of equal width and length, and adjacent the trackare indicated continuations of the spaces 32 shown as squares 33, fiveof which are on one side of the medial dividing line, i

and one situated on the other side, making six. squares in all alongeach side of the corner fields 28, 29, 30 and .31, with the center ofthe spindle 14, are situated other squares 34, four in number.. Theseare called the home stretch. These squares donot extend all the way tothe dial 22. At

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4 marked starting v the same color.

For each player four pieces or men are provided and these pieces or menare painted to agree with the quarters and fields on which they aresupposedto be. played, that is to say, they'are colored blue, red,yellow and green respectively. Instead of colors, other indicia may beemployed.

When the nuts 17 and 20, the arrow 18 and the spindle 14 are detachedfrom the board they are enclosed in a small receptacle 41. The followingrules may be used in playing the ame. As already stated it can be playeby two, three'or four players. When two pla the players select thecolors on the board iagonally opposite each other and each player isseated at the corner of the field carrying the color of his mernv Whenthree play, one corner will be vacant.

Each player receives four pieces of the same .color as is carried by thecolor of the quarter opposite to him and places his men in the circlemarking the starting point 35.

As long as the 'men remain in this circle they are actually not in theplay.

The object of each player is now to start all four pieces from thestarting point to, travel around the board on the track along the foursides thereof and to finally reach the home place 36"of his own color,and the player Who first gets all four men into the home place has wonthe game.

The pieces are moved in accordance with the marking of the hand on thedial, as

v many spaces forward as the number indicates on the dial. Any of themen may be captured in the spaces along the track upon which they areresting' by one of the opponents men, but they are safe on the safetyspaces carrying their own color, or on any of the get-away squares 33when passing a blockade formed opposite these get away squares.

' To start. a game each player spins the arrow once and the playerobtaining the highest number starts to play This player now spins thehand, but'a man Scan only be moved, when the hand points,to. -nuinber 7,and the player must enter one of his men for'every throw of 7 that hemakes until all four of his pieces are-inthe play. As soon as a playeronce. hasone or'more tangular space to form a blockade.

men upon the board, he spins the hand to move them forward upon thespaces of the track, or on the get aways with the object of bringing.all safely around the entire track, and through the home stretch to thehome place 36. When upon the spaced track running along all four sidesof the board, one man may pass another thereon, or two or three men ofthe same color may collect together on the same reIc athrow indicatesthat a man can be moved to a rectangular space 32 on the track where aman of a different color is already stationed, he captures-the latterwhich is then out of. the play and is returned to the op ponent, whothen places it in the circle 35 denoting the starting point in order toagain start him on his race.

No man is safe on the track except when placed on a safety spacecarrying his own color, spaces 38, or any of the corner fields 28, 29,30 and 31, which also is of his own color. The only exception is when ablockade of two or three men of the same color has been formed on any ofthe rectangular spaces, as at A or B, and a blockade like this cannot bepassed if situated on the straight track, as at B, but only when formedon a rectangular space 32, as at A when near the get-aways 33. A playermay hold a blockade until he is obliged to play one of his pieces. It isoften possible to get around a blockade by use of the get aways as at C,where the green man in the square 33 at this point has just passed aformed by two of his own'men, he may then place his third man thereon,forming" a blockade of three pieces, as at B. At his next turn he maymoveany-of his men in the blockade forward.

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If a blockade has been formed by an opponent on the safety square 38nearest the players starting point, he cannot enter-1 while the blockaderemains. For instance, if the green player has formed a blockade 0n theyellow rectangular space 38, the yellow player cannot enter his men fromthe place 35- denoting the starting point until the blockade has beenbroken.

All spaces on the board of the same color as the players men are safetyspaces. On all other spaces, the single pieces or men are in danger ofbeing captured, but any of the men are safe when on the squares 33 whichare called get aways. One of the opponents pieces may pass a singlepiece resting on a safety space of its own color, including the coloredspace in the counting when passing over it, but he cannot stop on thatspace, even though he should lose his The player capturing an opponentsmanobtains a reward of ten spaces, which may be applied to the man thatmade the capture or to any other man of the same color.

lVhen apiece has been captured it is given to the owner who places it inthe circle denoting the starting point at the right of the home stretch.The owner of the captured piece must enter the same as soon as the handstops at 7. When the player obtains a 7 after spinning the hand, he mustenter the play by placing his man on the colored rectangular space 38 onthe track nearest the starting point even if anoppone-nt should have apiece on the same space and the opponents'piece is then captured by theplayer.

If, on the other hand, a blockade has beenformed by the opponent on theplayers starting space 38, the player cannot enter, but he must thenmove one of his men at another part of the track it possible.

When the hand stops against a number on the dial having one of the smallarrows 43- pointing against it, the player obtains a doublet, that is tosay, he is entitled to another throw of the hand, and if at this secondthrow he also stops against an arrow,

he has the privilege of still another spin blockade onthe yellowcornerfield 30, a

yellow piece cannot enter itscorner' field 1m til' the blockade has beenbroken.

No men except those,carrying the color of the corner can enter-the homestretch 34 to the home place 36, that is no man carrying any othercolor. On the home stretch no two pieces can rest on the same square 34,nor can one piece pass another even though this "causes the loss of aturn and the players'throw must take the piece exactly to the home place.or circle marked 36 at the left of the home stretch.

A good player must use good judgment and if possible capture anopponents piece;

thefieby obtaining an additional move of' ten ispaces, while theopponents-piece is thrown 'back to the starting point-Q Regarding thepositions indicated in ure' 1 of the men of the different players,

the blue starting from the upper left hand corner has one of the menplaced as at D on the colored starting space 38 along the track. Thiswould indicate that his last throw of the hand 18 stopped on aspacemarked 7 on the dial so that this man has just been movedfrom thestarting point indicated by the circle 35. Two other men are stillplaced within this circle, which indicated that these two have not yetstarted on their racearound the track, or that they might have beencaptured by an opponent and returned for starting the race over.Accordingly the blue playerwhcn next time receiving a 7 on the dial must'move one of these pieces out of the blue starting space I at D and hewill in that manner form a blockade at this point. The fourth blue onthe board in counterclockwise direction,

that is to say, the blue man placed at the starting space at D movesdownwardly therefrom.

Considering now the red -men starting from the righthand corner of theboard as b5 811 in Figure 1, one of these still remains at the startingpoint ready to go out directly the player obtains a 7 on the dial. Thisplayer has succeeded in forminga three.-

fnan blockade as at B, thereby preventing the yellow man behind themfrom passing. If this player does not obtain a 7. at his next throw, hemust move one of his'tlirce [1811 forming thisbloc-kade at B. However,

as the blockade is still in existence, the y'el-' blue man should hisfall in this spa: e. \Vith a throw of 11 or 12, the green player may,however, side step this blue starting space as at DI and go around thesame on the by path 43, upon one square of which the man would then beplaced.

The yellow player has succeeded in get ting all his men out and onereturned to the yellow home place 36. This man, if

the last throw of the hand 18 showed 5 when the yellow man was on thecorner square 30., jumped directly from that corner square'into the homeplace over the stretch-34. At A,- two of the yellow men are forming ablockade,;this would mean that the yellow player, has twice struck a 7on the dial and then twice a 2, which would mean" that thefitwo yellowmen at A had to pass out, first, totheyellow space 38 and lllii boardwhere he is not safe from capture man is placed on one of therectangular then to the second space ahead. The fourth yellow man hastravelled around to the upper side of the track but has been unable topassthe blockade formed at B and cannot pass from there until theblockade is broken, that is to say, when two of the red men have beenmoved away from this place.

If then only one of the red men remains on this space marked B and theyellow player obtains a 1 at his next throw, he will capture the red manat B and return the same to the red player for starting the man from thered starting point 35.

Considering, lastly, the green player,

# he has succeeded to get one of his men ad 'vanced to C on one of theby ath or getaway squares 33 past the b ockade at A formed by the twoyellow men. His second spaces 32, as at E, at the bottom 0 the by anopponents man advancing from be- Mhind, while, however, the green man atC is safe, being positioned on one of the get- 7 spaces of the'trackcarrying difi'erent indicia, and a home place and a starting pointadjacent each of said corner spaces and carrying the same'indicia as thelatter, the track space adjacent each of said starting points and thespaces on either side thereof having inwardly directed continuations,

said continuations together forming a getaway.

2. A square game board having a quartered central dial with .a pluralityof. divisioiis numbered consecutively, a hand revolubly mounted on saiddial, a track along the edges of the board having a plurality of spaces,the corner spaces of the track carrying diflerent indicia and thecorresponding quarters of said dial being marked 'in like manner, and ahome place and a starting point adjacent each of said corner spaces andcarrying the same indicia as the latter, the track space adjacent eachof said start ing points and the spaces on either side thereof havinginwardly directed continuations, said continuations together forming aget-away.

3. A square game board having a quartered central dial with a pluralityof divisions numbered consecutively in each quarter thereof, a handrevolubly mounted on said dial, a track along the edges of the boardhaving a plurality of spaces, the corner spaces of the track carryingdifferent indicia and the corresponding quarters of said dial beingmarked in like manner, and a home place and a starting point adjacenteach of said corner spaces and carrying the same inolubly mounted onsaid dial, a track along.

the edges of the board having a plurality of spaces, the corner spacesof the track carrying different indicia and the corresponding quartersof said dial being marked in like manner, and a home place and a startin(7 point adjacent each of said corner spaces and carrying the sameindicia as the latter, the track space adjacent each of said startingpoints and the spaces on either side thereof having inwardly directedcontinuations, said continuations together forming a get away.

5. A square game board having a quartered central dial with a pluralityof divisions numbered consecutively in each quarter'thereof, a handrevolubly mounted on said dial, a track along the edges of the boardhaving a plurality of spaces, the corner spaces of the track carryingdifferent indicia and the corresponding quarters of said dial beingmarked in like manner, a home place and a starting point adjacent eachof said corner spaces and the track space adjacent said starting pointcarrying the same indiciaas thelatter and its corresponding startingpoint, and a home run path extending from each of said corner spaces tothe corresponding home place.

6. A square game board having a quartered central dial with a pluralityof divi sions numbered consecutively in each quarter thereof, a handrevolubly mounted on said dial, a track along the edges of the boardhaving a plurality of spaces, the corner spaces of the track carryingdifferent indicia and the corresponding quarters of said dial beingmarked in like manner, a home place and a starting pOintadjacent each ofsaid corner spaces and carrying the same indicia as the latter, a homerun path extending from each ofsaid corner spaces to the corresppndinghome place, and said starting point space and the track spaces on eitherside thereof having inwardly directed continuations, said continuations,together forming a get-away.

In testimoniylwhereof I aflix my signature.

' OBART CLEGG. [1,. s.]

